By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON, July 14 (Reuters) - The top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday asked Paramount CEO David Ellison if he or the company were pressuring CBS News to air content sought by President Donald Trump.
Representative Jamie Raskin, who would take over as committee chair next year if Democrats win control of the House in November, said in a letter to Ellison: "Your company appears to be colluding with the Trump Administration to curtail media independence, promote
political and ideological censorship, and stifle dissent."
The letter cited concerns regarding CBS’s editorial independence after 60 Minutes journalist Scott Pelley was fired and alleged that CBS editor in chief Bari Weiss asked him to make anti-ICE protesters "look more violent."
Raskin and Representative Frank Pallone in May asked Ellison if he or the company offered to make changes to CNN's coverage of Trump in exchange for approval of a $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery.
Paramount declined to comment. CBS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
"It is plain to see that you have been delivering for
President Trump at CBS and that Bari Weiss is poised to deliver at CNN, if the acquisition is approved," Raskin wrote.
On Monday, California and 11 states sued to block Paramount's acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery.
In November, Raskin and Pallone said Paramount was "stonewalling congressional oversight" after they sought documents tied to the Federal Communications Commission's approval of Skydance's $8.4 billion merger with the CBS News-parent company.
Trump has aggressively pushed the Federal Communications Commission to go after media companies over programs or news content he deems unfair.
Shortly before the deal was approved, Paramount last year paid $16 million to settle Trump's lawsuit against CBS over its editing of a "60 Minutes" interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump's Democratic opponent in 2024.
Skydance also agreed to ensure CBS News and entertainment programming would be free of bias, hire an ombudsman for at least two years to review complaints, and end diversity programs.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by David Gregorio)
